Thank you for visiting us to see who makes up our cast of editors and contributors at ANPT! The team is made up of skillful, knowledgeable, personable ladies with a strong passion for what they do. They are experts in their respective categories of needlework, who also enjoy other forms of needlework. They bring to ANPT magazine the most inspiring works from across Canada in every fabulous issue! John, the gentleman of the team, pushes the enterprise forward with his excellent business skills and makes each issue look its very best! – Carla

Carla Canonico
Publisher, Editor-in-Chief

As a child, Carla was always fascinated with her mom’s sewing and was close by every time her mom was at her sewing machine. Her mother had a passion for sewing from a young age and because of her, Carla developed an appreciation for sewing with beautiful fabrics. Carla also learned to knit from her grandmother who was an excellent knitter! But being busy with school, learning classical piano and swimming, she hardly had any time to get actively involved in needlework.

John De Fusco
Publisher

John has followed a circuitous path to the magazine publishing business, through engineering and business schools, careers in the financial, IT, and telecom industries, and a relocation from Montreal, Quebec, to Newmarket, Ontario.

John was in between jobs in 2005 when he made the decision to join Carla in her fledgling enterprise. It was certainly a leap of faith out of the comfort zone, outside of the box. Everything was going the way it was supposed to go, and they decided to turn it upside down.

Meet the ANPT Team

Cynthia MacDougall
Knitting Contributor

Cynthia MacDougall has been knitting steadily for almost 40 years. Her primary knitting interest is lace, but she enjoys all forms of knitting. She also spins, crochets, sews, quilts, embroiders, weaves, and makes lace in both tatting and pillow lace forms.

In the mid-1990s, Cynthia wrote articles for several craft publications and served as newsletter editor for the Huronia Spinners’ Guild. Having unearthed her passion for writing and knitting design, she founded Canadian Guild of Knitters in 2002.

Heather McArthur
Quilting Contributor

As the founder and editor of Canada’s former quilting publication, Quilter’s Connection Magazine, Heather spent ten years writing, editing and publishing. Recently retired, Heather’s intention was to spend less time writing about quilting, and more time actually doing it.

Life takes funny turns doesn’t it? Heather now write articles and designs quilt patterns for other publications, including A Needle Pulling Thread, and occasionally posts on her blog.

Elaine Theriault
Quilting Contributor

Elaine began quilting in 1998 and quickly became a quilt teacher. Elaine’s Tech Tips columns (originally published in A Needle Pulling Thread magazine) is now available at QUILTsocial.com.

Her quilt patterns have been published in numerous quilting magazines including Quilter’s Connection, A Needle Pulling Thread, Easy Quilts, McCall’s Quilting, Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting, and Quilts and More.

Karen McCleary
Show Representative

Karen enjoys a well rounded approach to the needle arts. Having learned to knit with her grandmother at an early age, she is rarely seen empty handed.

As the years progressed and new options opened, Karen tried many of them: macramé, needlepoint, embroidery, latch rug hooking, ceramics, flower arranging, origami, beading to name a few, but she always came back to knitting and quilting.

Judith Marquis
Creative Advisor

Judith Marquis is a designer and teacher of smocking, heirloom sewing, silk ribbon embroidery and other hand and machine techniques.

As a Ryerson Fashion grad she has worked in many facets of the fashion world from wholesale sales, to retail management, to manufacturing. She is a long time member and approved teacher for the Smocking Arts Guild of America. She teaches in select shops in Canada as well as from home in Newmarket, Ontario where she houses ‘The Wardrobe’, a mini store stocked with smocking and heirloom supplies.

Jo Gatenby
Cross Stitch Contributor

Jo Gatenby grew up in Oakville, Ontario, and has been sketching and doing crafts her entire life. She has taught classes in everything from strip quilting to cornhusk dolls, but when she discovered cross-stitch, she found her passion. When her husband (Bill) challenged her to create her own designs, she accepted the challenge and started her own company.

Sondra Armas
Graphics Assistant │ Social Media

Hi! I’m from Venezuela, I’ve been a graphic designer for 7 years. I have loved computers and technology since I was a little girl. In this flourishing digital marketing age, I’m continuously learning about technology and its tools.

Graphic design allows me to express my creativity putting together modern and creative designs. I love going to the gym and I love food! Balance is the key.

Alejandro Araujo
Web Developer │ Digital Marketing

Alejandro is passionate about the digital world. This has led him to graduate as a Systems Engineer and get more than 10 years of experience in different projects related to e-commerce and digital marketing at a young age.

He collaborates with the entire digital platform of A Needle Pulling Thread, and other projects such as CRAFTalytics.